This application seeks renewed support for a Program Project which, since 1977, has been the scientific cornerstone for the growth of a productive academic program in gerontology at Beth Israel Hospital and Harvard Medical School. The present proposal continues our prior focus on elucidation of the physiologic mechanism of normal aging in the absence of disease and extends this physiologic approach to prevalent and morbid illnesses of the elderly. The proposed closely inter-related projects build on substantial preliminary data from our laboratories and include: 1) Outcomes of extracellular volume change: the oldest old; 2) Nutrition and aging: Protein and energy interactions; and 3) Sodium sensitivity of hypertension and aging. Data resulting from these investigations promise to advance our knowledge in important clinical aspects of physiologic changes with age. The shared resources and scientific collaborations in this renewal are more extensive than in previous applications with four Clinical Research Centers, a subject recruiting team, and substantial blending of senior investigative gerontologic expertise among the proposed projects. the Program Project forms an excellent substrate for training of gerontologic investigators, particularly from the physician scientist trainees entering our Institutional Physician Scientist Program, and graduates of the Division on Aging Fellowship Program entering our Geriatric Research Training Center.
